Tokyo Psychic

Page 326

If Hanekawa Tsubasa is a monster cursed with perfection.

Akira Kurusu is a monster who transcends "common sense".

No matter how flawlessly Hanekawa Tsubasa performed, she always stood on the edge of "common sense," and was "perfect" as people understood her.

Unlike Lai Xixiao, every step he takes seems to exceed people's comprehension. Rather than calling him a "weirdos" or an "eccentric," it's more accurate to say, "This guy is practically cheating."

In the initial cycle of reincarnation.

The final round of the finals.

Akira Kurusu used a completely unconventional and imaginative problem-solving approach that was beyond people's comprehension. Just when the "perfect" Tsubasa Hanekawa was racking her brains, he suddenly pressed the indicator light.

At that moment, Hanekawa Tsubasa relied on "the knowledge that Hanekawa Tsubasa, as a high school student, could know" to solve the equation in front of her, which was so complex that the solution process filled two pages of draft paper.

She was two seconds behind Akira Kurusu.

In math exams, the time allotted is negligible, but in this arena, it becomes an insurmountable, suffocating distance.

Even after suffering a crushing defeat, Hanekawa Tsubasa maintained her impeccable composure, sporting a warm and welcoming smile. She not only went over to shake hands with Kurusu Akira but also sincerely praised him...

It was as if she felt no regret at all for failing at the last minute.

"If Hanekawa Tsubasa is perfect, then she would definitely do this as a perfect person."

Having witnessed the entire match, Homura Akemi no longer aspires to be as outstanding as Tsubasa Hanekawa.

She just felt a little scared to herself.

"How exactly did Amamiya come up with the idea of ​​using that formula to immediately verify the result?" the instructor, who was acting as the judge, asked Akira Kurusu as she presented the trophy.

Akira Kurusu calmly replied, "It just so happens that I know how to solve that problem..."

When Homura Akemi heard Akira Kurusu's speech during the award ceremony, she couldn't help but exclaim, "This guy is practically cheating."

After many cycles, she learned that Akira Kurusu had indeed cheated on the eve of the final.

Several judges at the finals were bribed, and then the Phantom Thief took the opportunity to ask the Shadow in the Memory Space a few hours before the competition started, directly obtaining the answers to all the questions on the day of the finals... That's why he was able to overcome all the contestants and keep the stalemate with Hanekawa Tsubasa until the final stage.

......

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Math competitions are always boring, and after watching for three hours, the girls, who had become magical girls, left the auditorium in a daze.

Mami Tomoe and Homura Akemi initially tried to learn some useful knowledge from the competition, but later found that they couldn't understand the formulas at all.

As for Sayaka and Madoka Kaname, they fell asleep many times along the way.

The setting sun painted the long path of the campus red, the cherry trees on both sides swaying their lush green leaves, and the girls chatted about the latest fashion magazines, leisurely as if they had suddenly escaped the witch, escaped life and death, escaped endless despair...

Until, a jet-black thread stretched out from the direction of Tokyo, tearing the sky apart and splitting the magnificent sunset in two, with the dense shadows of dolls writhing in the huge void.

"What is that?" Homura Akemi noticed the dramatic change in the sky. She stopped and stared into the distance, her mouth agape in fear, wanting to ask a question but unable to utter a word. A chilling coldness seeped into her entire body, and she collapsed to her knees, limp and weak.

Her friends were too preoccupied to notice Homura Akemi's loss of composure.

Rather, as magical girls with more experience than Homura Akemi, they fully understood just how extraordinary this suddenly emerging witch truly was.

"That's too unfair..." Sayaka's eyes were brimming with tears, and her breathing was trembling with fear and shock.

Madoka Kaname stammered, looking at the oldest and most capable magical girl beside her, "Senpai, this is...?"

Mami Tomoe felt the trust and aggression of her juniors, and this strong sense of responsibility forced her to pull herself together amidst immense fear and despair.

But just as she was trying to comfort the girls...

A white beast named "Khubi" floated behind the group.

"This is terrible, Tokyo has completely disappeared from the surface of the earth."

Kyubey exclaimed in amazement, "Due to special circumstances, the Witch's Barrier overlapped with reality in terms of cognition, resulting in... a collision between two world levels, making the 'destroyed Tokyo' in the Witch's Barrier a reality."

"Kyubi, the special reason you mentioned..." Madoka Kaname stammered as she asked her partner who had guided her to become a magical girl.

And Cupid, without saying a word, replied, "It's probably that guy called the Mind Thief. All the anomalies revolve around him."

"So...the Phantom Thief is the culprit behind the destruction of Tokyo?"

"No, it should be said that he released the witch..." The girls looked at each other, their minds in turmoil, not even knowing what they were saying.

Kyubey fell silent as the magical girls began their spontaneous discussion, offering no further guidance.

It wasn't until the girls' conversation became increasingly skewed, and their speculations about the Phantom Thief oscillated between evil and neutrality, that Kyubey finally came to a conclusion.

"I think everyone should take a short break."

“After all…” it looked at the ever-extending threads on the horizon, “If we continue to let that witch expand the barrier, Mitakihara City will soon be swallowed up and then assimilated into a state of 'destruction' in reality.”

"Should we leave for Tokyo right away?" Mami Tomoe asked Kyubey.

“Tokyo no longer exists,” Kyubey said. “Magical girls from all over Japan will soon gather here to fight this unconventional witch.”

"Is this... Witch's Night?" Homura Akemi asked Kyubey haltingly.

"This isn't Witch's Night, but if we continue to let it go unchecked, she'll probably grow so strong that she won't need the barrier to protect her anymore. When that happens... human civilization will be completely wiped out."

......

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Let's go back to the present.

Homura Akemi sat in Akira Kurusu's arms and spoke softly.

"This is the beginning of all the tragedy."

"What's that witch's name?" Akira Kurusu, who prided herself on having read the entire "Puella Magi Madoka Magica" manga, had never heard of Tokyo being destroyed in any manga or anime because of a witch who carried dolls or threads.

“The doll witch, Mutsumi Wakaba, and the human witch, Shoko Toyokawa,” Homura Akemi replied. “Some time passed after we defeated them before Witch's Night.”

"They actually won?" Akira Kurusu thought to herself, this lineup didn't seem like something that the magical girls from Homura Akemi's era could defeat together.

“In the first cycle, of course we lost,” Homura Akemi said in a low voice, “...a complete and utter defeat.”

"Later, I used my abilities as a magical girl to find hope of defeating the witch who was a puppet through repeated reincarnations."

"The specific process is hard to describe now, but we made huge sacrifices. After defeating two witches in succession, our extermination team was struggling to maintain effective combat power."

"Are only magical girls involved in defeating these two witches?"

“You should be able to guess,” Homura Akemi said softly. “Just as you expected, we only managed to defeat the ‘Doll Witch’ and the ‘Human Witch’ with the help of the Phantom Thieves.”

"The Phantom Thieves...group?"

At some point, the flow of time returned to normal.

Homura Akemi seemed to have enjoyed the tenderness enough. She put on her shoes, climbed off Akira's lap, tidied her slightly disheveled clothes, and then stood gracefully in front of him. Her long, black hair fell to her waist, and her slender body stood straight like an upright pencil.

“If things had gone according to plan, as a minor who had lost her guardian, you would have been taken in by the kind owner of the coffee shop when you passed by Shigenjaya.”

At that moment, the tram arrived at the station, and the female announcer's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Then, with the help of the shopkeeper, you will enroll in the high school we just passed, where you will meet many victims influenced by evil people twisted by desire. In the process of saving them, you will form bonds with them and help them awaken the power of Persona in the Impression Space and the Mind Palace... Finally, you will form the Mind Thieves."

Akira Kurusu stood up, took Homura Akemi's outstretched hand, and walked out of the carriage.

Even until the very end, Homura Akemi never explained how she fell in love with Akira Kurusu.

After all, that was a story that took place after the defeat of Witch Night.

......

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[AM. 8:11]

After the morning rush hour, the streets of Shigenjaya were unusually quiet.

Only a few elderly people were chatting about everyday things around a telephone pole covered with advertisements and flyers.

A variety of shops stretched to the end of the road, and milk deliverymen sped past on their bicycles.

A petite, cute girl with brown hair was seen hurrying past Homura Akemi and Akira Kurusu, a piece of bread dangling from her mouth.

Those lake-blue eyes were filled with panic.

Soon, a middle-aged man in work clothes ran out of the coffee shop, "Nina! Come back! I'll drive you to school!"

Jing Qinren spoke hastily, dropping the piece of bread she was holding in her mouth to the ground, where it became covered in dust. "We're going to be late!"

"Driving you there won't make you late." Sakura Sojiro was so angry at this impetuous girl that he pounded his chest and stamped his feet.

After much pleading and cajoling, it was finally possible to persuade Jing Qinrencai to return to LeBron.

LeBron is the destination for Akira and Homura Akemi today, a café located in Shigenjaya.

When Homura Akemi saw Igarashi Renna, her gaze was unusually complicated.

Akira Kurusu quickly sensed Homura Akemi's subtle emotional fluctuations through her intuition.

But since Homura Akemi didn't say a word, Akira Kurusu didn't ask any more questions.

“Come in,” Akira Kurusu said, pushing open the door to LeBron’s shop.

Homura Akemi followed behind Akira Kurusu.

The two sat down one after the other in the window seats.

The shop manager hurriedly pushed Izanagi out the door, then quickly followed Akira and Homura, saying, "I'm sorry! I have to take this child to school now, so I can't serve you for the time being... Why don't you go to another shop first?"

“It’s alright,” Homura Akemi raised her voice slightly, “We were just about to rest here for a while, so please entertain us when you return.”

Looking at Homura Akemi, Sakura Sojiro trusted this seemingly cold and beautiful girl.

Izayoi turned around frequently, probably attracted by Akira Kurusu's "fully unsealed" appearance, but after noticing Homura Akemi opposite him, she felt a pang of regret.

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"Now that there's no one left in the store, it's time to continue our first transaction."

Akira Kurusu said to Homura Akemi.

Homura Akemi nodded, then subtly reached under the table and removed a recorder.

The sophisticated machine silently crumbled into dust at her fingertips.

"Regarding how to open the Velvet Room..." Homura Akemi thought for a moment, "You'll need to wait for your Velvet Assistant to create a passage between the Sea of ​​Hearts and reality. The specific timeframe should be within a week."

"So Ravenda is safe and sound."

"Yes, Lady Ravenda should be anxiously waiting to see you again in the Sea of ​​Hearts."

Why is Yan suddenly not using honorifics with me anymore?

"I'm even thinking of calling you by your name..." Homura Akemi seemed lost in her memories after talking to Akira Kurusu on the train, and appeared somewhat tired.

She quickly rallied her spirits and looked at Akira Kurusu seriously. "You don't need to worry about the Persona anymore. You'll be back to being the omnipotent mind thief in a week at most."

"If you want to know more... then please continue trading."

Akira Kurusu remained silent for a moment before beginning to think about the information he urgently needed.

Then he asked Homura Akemi, "What exactly is our relationship?"

"You've tested me on this issue so many times already, aren't you satisfied yet?"

"I want to hear a formal and accurate answer from you."

Homura Akemi's lips trembled slightly as countless horrific images flashed before her eyes.

In a collapsing world, the demon behind the severely wounded boy unfurls its dark wings that blot out the sky. He manipulates a giant gun, loads the last bullet, and aims at the "god" blocking his way.